The bogey of Over-Population

'From birth, black people are told a set of lies about themselves. We are
told that we are lazy - yet I drive through the Delta area of Mississippi
and watch black people picking cotton in the hot sun for fourteen hours.
We are told, if you work hard, you'll succeed - but if that were true,
black people would own this country. We are oppressed because we are black
- not because we are ignorant, not because we are lazy, not because we are
stupid (and got good rhythm), but because we're black.' (Maulana Ron Karenga,
quoted in 'Black and White Power Subreption', by Joseph R. Washington, Jr.
Beacon Press, Boston, 1971. pp.71-72).

Eldridge Cleaver once said that Americans see themselves as a huge rescue
squad on permanent call to step in anywhere in the world. He was half right.
I do not think that it is an American ailment, it's a disease which is
afflicting the whole Western world. Westerners believed it their
'manifest-destiny' to interfere in other society's affairs, whether
or not their 'help' are needed.

The result is that disasters are created where they did not exist, or
compounded where they do. Every white person is an expert when it comes to
diagnosing African problem. In one breath, we are told, Africa's biggest
problem is bad government. When we reply to ask how Italy managed to
overtake Britain despite her bad governments, they shifted gear. No, we
are told again, it is corruption. When we questioned why corruption did
not stop Japan from becoming an economic power, they blinked and said:
'hold on, it is absence of market forces and lack of democratic
institutions.' When we ask them why the Asians are not hindered by the
lack of 'democratic institutions.' They blinked once more, scratch their
heads and replied. 'No, it is over-population and the absence of birth-
control.' Do you need tell the 'specialists' that both India's and China's
population are far bigger than Africa's?

It would be barely acceptable, if these things are just discussed and talked
about in normal academic circles. That, however, was not the Westerners
intention. THEY MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Blinded by racial prejudice,
which makes them believe that Africans are incapable of doing anything for
themselves. They will apply for and be given grants to go and impose their
demented 'solutions' to these 'problems.' They will get the BBC, the TIME,
the CNN and other western media involved. The United (sic) Nations must
called a conference whose agenda are dictated by the Western nations.

In no time, local issues, in Africa, will suddenly become a big, global
event. It would be transformed into huge media circus. It is put daily
on the television. Bill Clinton must give a press conference to address it,
so must John Major and other leaders of the Western world. There will be
marches and rallies. It is bannered on headlines. Whether it has to do with
African elephants, or the African rain forests, the self-conceit of Europeans
are driving them into imposing their values on other people, who neither
need nor desired it. Although, in most instances, the results of these
interventions, have not be pleasant, that hasn't stop the bleeding hearts
from moving elsewhere. There are still enough places on earth waiting to
be depraved by the West; the bleeding-hearts will be employed for time to
come.

A few years ago, the apostles of SAP descended on Africa. The continent will
become a paradise if Africa nations will entrust their economic future to
the 'experts' from the IMF and the sadly-misnamed World Bank. A lot of
African countries ceded their sovereign rights to these neo-colonial agencies.
A decade or so later, the continent is going through its roughest patch yet.
As soon as Africans fulfill one conditionality, another is imposed.
The Euro-Americans keep changing the rules. Their promised 'aid' and
'investments' are yet to materialised. In the meantime, Euro-Americans
keep destabilising the continent, overtly and covertly.

We have moved from lack of democracy to lack of market forces to lack of
structural adjusments, we're now on the population train. When it becomes
a demonstratable fact, that Western economic policies, imposed on Africa
via the IMF and the World Bank has become a huge fiasco, another reason
must be adduce which exculpate Euro-Americans from the present wretchedness
of Africa. Over-Population become the swan song.

The only charitable thing I can say about those who maintain that Africa is
over-populated, is that they do not know what they are talking about.

We can put continental U.S.A., India, Japan, China, New Zealand and the
whole of Europe within continental Africa (minus the Islands), and you'll
still have a lot of space to spare. India's population alone is larger
than that of Africa, yet foul-mouthed apostles of racicide are telling
us that Africa is overpopulated.

Those who maintained that Africa is over populated are those who wished
Africans to just disappear from the face of the earth. They are talking
neither geography nor demography nor science nor sense. Those arguments
are motivated by nothing but crass racism.

If the proponents are sincere, why is the same
argument not use in the context of Europe? Sudan with about 25 million
Square kilometer of landmass is populated by only 19 million people, while
55 million British crammed themselves into an island of about 244,046 KM.
Zaire's 2.3 million KM of land is populated by about 30 million people,
while about 55 million Frenchmen squeezed themselves into a quarter of
that size. Somali's 6 million people has an area mass of over 600 thousand
KM, while Holland, with a population of 15 million, is squeezed into about
40 thousand KM. Who is overpopulated now?

The West which consumed and squandered inordinate amount of the world's
resources, most of which are produced in the poor countries, does not see
itself as responsible for some of the world's serious problems. Everything
must be blame on Africa. Instead of admitting that it's the West's
greediness and gluttonous appetite, that's causing much of the Worlds' hunger,
the blame is being shifted to the hapless Africans. The thesis that Africa's
underdevelopment is caused by over-population, are simply untenable, and they
are intellectually indefensible. It is simply motivated by racism.

According to the United Nations MONTHLY BULLETIN OF STATISTICS (1990 issues),
Ethiopia, Somalia and Mozambique, the three African countries most affected
by famine and starvation, has 38, 12 and 20 inhabitants per square kilometers
respectively. This contrast sharply with 363 for The Netherlands, 324 for
Belgium, and 234 for the United Kingdom. Germany has a population density
of 219 inhabitants per square kilometer. Ghana, which is twice the size of
the United Kingdom, is inhabited by a fourth the population of the latter.
This, however, does not stop Western commentators from telling us that
Africa is overpopulated.

Let's call a spade by its proper name; let's face facts, however unpalatable.
Rather than face reality, and admit that Western-inspired policies foisted
on Africa is causing Capital flight; run-away inflation; great economic
dislocations; social and political instability; currency devaluation to the
point of inutility; withdrawal of subsidy on education and health; the sacking
of workers without compensation; poor prices for Africa's primary products;
heavy loan burden; arms-sales and military interventions ;migration of
expensively-trained technocrats - measures, which are inflicting great
assault on Africa, so-called Western-experts are bemoaning the bogey of
over-population. The saddest thing is that only a few of African leaders
seems to be aware of the REAL cause of most of their problems.

Those who decry my persistent criticism of the West should tell me what they
think qualifies the West to give lectures. Some wrote to ask why I don't
criticise the Asians. Why should I? I got no ax to grind with Asians, a
people who are doing their level best to solve THEIR OWN PROBLEMS. I would
like Africans to start solving theirs, I am sure we could if we are left
alone. We could redeem ourselves if we are not saddled by all the handicaps
Euro-Americans are throwing in our way.

How could we grow when from infancy we have Europeans breathing down our neck
until we go to our graves. European missionaries are their to baptise us;
European 'experts' are always their to 'advise' us.

Let the European busy-bodies come back to their continent and try to solve
THEIR own problems of joblessness, homelessness, hopelesness, copelessness,
drug-abuse, child-abuse, social-disintegration.

Actually, my problem is not with the Western nations, but with African
leaders who, with child-like helplessness, continue to look up to
Euro-America for leadership and guidance. They can do a lot more for
their people by forming alliances among themselves to solve their common
problems. Euro-Americans are just pursuing their own interests, and these
are diametrically opposed to ours. It is time we start to look after our
own interests. We have paid too much dividends to Euro-America.

How do we drum this into the heads of African leaders? Solution anyone?